Chapter Twenty-Three: Just Pretend
Word got around school pretty fast that I had beaten James at climbing the rope. Even though I had to go to the nurse to get bandages put on my hands, and an icepack for my head, people still acted like I was amazing. While no one approached Jericho or me in an openly friendly manner, I noticed that fewer kids were tripping us in the halls and stuff like that. In fact, some kids went out of their way to make it easier for us to walk down the halls.
Jericho continued to treat me the way she always had: like I was a normal person and we were just friends. But I had caught her staring at me during History a few times, and I wondered if perhaps she liked me as much as I liked her. I wanted to ask her about it. I wanted to find out how she felt about me. But every time I opened my mouth to say something, Hilde's face appeared in my mind and I suddenly felt like I would be betraying her if I did anything with Jericho.
So I kept my big mouth shut, something that would have astonished the other pilots if they had known. "Duo? Actually keeping his mouth shut? Is he sick?" they would have asked.
And to tell the truth, I was sick. I was sick because of my long for Hilde and I was sick for my longing for Jericho.
"Why does life have to be so difficult?" I cried one day while Benny and I were walking through the snow-covered park. Benny licked my gloved hand and whimpered, nuzzling my leg with his head. Laughing, I patted his head. "Thanks Benny, but don't think I've forgiven you for calling me pathetic the other night." He wagged his tail and started down the path again, tugging me along behind him.
.0.
A few days later, Jericho and I were sitting in the kitchen playing a game of checkers while Diana baked cookies.
"Duo, have you done any Christmas shopping yet?" Diana asked, placing a plate of cookies down on the counter top next to our checkerboard.
I shook my head as I moved a piece. "No. Hadn't really thought about it. King me, again," I said, grinning over at Jericho. For as smart as that girl was, she was a really lousy checker player. She pretended to pout and placed a checker on top of the one I had just moved.
"Christmas is in less than a week, Duo!" Diana exclaimed. "I thought you said a few weeks ago that you wanted to celebrate Christmas this year."
"I do," I replied as Jericho captured one of my pieces.
"Then why haven't you gone shopping yet?"
I shrugged. "I don't have a car, and you and Jon have been pretty busy lately, so I didn't really feel right asking you to drive me across town to the mall."
Diana sighed. "Well, we're only going to be busier during the next week. Maybe I can drop you off at the mall on my way somewhere or something."
"Don't worry about it, Diana," Jericho said as I examined the board to choose my next move. "My mom says I can have the car tomorrow after church since I still have some shopping I need to do. I can swing by and pick Duo up and take him to the mall with me. OH NO!" she cried as I managed to capture all but one of her remaining pieces with one move. She looked up at me, her eyes narrowed. "Who said you could be better at this game than me?"
I grinned and stuck my tongue out at her. "Who said you could be better than me at everything else?"
Jericho pouted and said nothing.
The mall was full of people rushing around, looking for gifts to buy. It was almost a crazy mob scene in some of the toy stores and I wondered if maybe the mall was exceeding its occupancy regulations by a few thousand.
"So, who do you need to buy presents for?" Jericho asked me as we navigated through the throngs of people in one of the department stores.
"Umm, Jon and Diana…You…Heero, Quatre and Trowa…umm, I think that's it. Should I get your parent's something?" I asked, not quite sure what the etiquette of getting and giving gifts on Christmas was.
Jericho laughed. "You'd only have to get them something if we were like a couple or engages or something," she replied. "They'll probably get you something, but they're not expecting anything from you. Why aren't you getting something for WuFei?"
I grinned at her. "At the zoo a few months ago, I got him a stuffed animal. Diana never got around to taking me to the post office, so I figured I'll just send it up to space as his Christmas present."
Jericho frowned slightly. "You're sending the presents to the colonies?"
"Yeah," I said, nodding.
"Hmm…I think you should wait until after Christmas to do it," she said after a moment's thought.
"But then they wouldn't be there for Christmas!" I cried. "I might procrastinate some stuff, but I'd never procrastinate Christmas presents!"
She shook her head. "I'm sure they'd understand. Besides, if you sent them now, the postage would cost more than the gifts. Wait until after the Christmas rush when postage rates are lower, and you won't spend as much on sending them."
"But I—"
"Duo, just trust me on this, okay?" Jericho said as she stopped and whirled around, putting her hands on my shoulders. "Don't send them their gifts until after Christmas. Things will be better for everyone if you do, especially for you and your wallet." Her eyes shifted from mine to something that was behind me. Her expression of stern concern was suddenly replaced with one of absolute dread. "Oh no…" she moaned.
"What is it?" I asked, turning my head to see what she was staring at. She put her hand to my face and kept me from turning my head around.
"There's this guy that works in this store," she explained. "His name's Ed. He asks me out every time I come here. He's a nice guy but…you know. Anyway, lately I've been turning him down by saying I have a boy friend, and last time I was here, he said if he didn't see me with my boyfriend next time I came, then I'd have to go on a date with him."
I frowned. "You mean this guy likes you and is basically guilt-tripping you into going out with him?"
"Yes," she peered around me and then suddenly ducked back behind me. I was scared she might start hyperventilating with the way she was panicking. "Oh God, he saw me! We made eye contact! What am I going to—Hi Ed. I didn't realize you were working today." Jericho's voice suddenly turned from one of panic to fake-sweet and a huge, fake smile spread across her face.
I turned around and found myself standing face to face with a guy that looked to be about eighteen years old. His nametag said his name was Ed and that he worked in the electronics department. He had a mass of curly red hair on the top of his head, facial hair that needed to be groomed, and an acne problem that made his face look like a giant connect-the-dots puzzle. He was also rather chunky. I felt kind of sorry for the guy, but that only lasted until he opened his mouth.
"Hey Jericho, babe," he said, leaning against a set of shelves and causing them to shift across the floor. He was trying to act all cool, like James Dean. It wasn't working. "I'm working every day till Christmas. Gotta earn those bucks, you know. So, remember our little deal?"
Jericho nodded. "Yeah, I either bring my boyfriend to meet you, or I go out on a date with you." God, she looked like she was in pain by just being in his presence.
Ed grinned. "Well, I don't see a boyfriend, so how does seven o'clock next Friday sound? I know this great little restaurant over on the other side of town, and then we can go for a little drive." From the tone of his voice, I had a feeling I knew how the drive would end, and it was not a pleasant thought.
Jericho whimpered just loud enough that I barely heard her. "Well, gee, Ed, that, uh…that sounds real nice, but ummm…" She was trying to turn him down, but I could see it in her eyes that she didn't know how. If I didn't step in, she'd probably end up on the date and miserable. And I would end up alone at home and miserable.
"So, Friday night is good for you?" Ed asked. I realized that he was definitely not looking at Jericho's face, but at her chest. Anger boiled inside me.
"Actually, Ed," I said, stepping forward, putting my arm around Jericho's waist and pulling her close to me. "Jericho isn't gonna be in town next Friday. We're going on a little getaway. Together. Isn't that right, babe?" I finished, looking down at Jericho who had a dumbstruck look on her face. She was staring up at me like I was crazy.
"Duo, what are you talking about?" she asked, sounding worried.
I smiled down at her. "I was gonna surprise you sweetie, but it was gonna be your Christmas present to celebrate our forth month of dating." I bent down and kissed her on the head right above her ear. "Listen, just play along if you don't wanna get stuck with Ed next Friday," I whispered, forcing myself to straighten up.
Ed was frowning. I smiled at him. "I'm sorry, how stupid of me. I'm Duo Maxwell, Jericho's boyfriend. She's told me a lot about you, and it's good to finally meet you."
"Her boyfriend?" Ed asked, his face going pale.
"Yeah," I said, smiling. I looked back down to Jericho. "Hey, Jericho, why don't you go on ahead to the jewelry department and start looking at the engagement rings, okay? I'll be along in a minute."
She smiled at me with the biggest, prettiest smile I had ever seen on her face. "Sure thing, hunny," she giggled, kissing me on the cheek. She then hurried off towards a different section of the store. Ed watched her go, and I noticed he was staring at her backside the entire time. It was a nice backside, I had to admit, but that didn't mean I stared at it like it was some great show.
"She's one hot chick," Ed said, grinning at me.
I nodded. "Yep. That she is," I said, nodding. Then, in one swift movement, I grabbed his shoulder with my hand and slammed him into the shelving unit behind him. "And if I ever hear you call her that again, I will make your life a living hell. If I ever see you stare at any area of her body except her face, I will make you wish you had never been born. If I ever even get the slightest hint that you have been talking to her about anything other than TVs or stereos, I will see to it that you do not live to see your next zit-popping session. Got it?"
Even his pimples had lost all their color. "Y-yes sir," he stuttered.
"Good," I said, giving him a slight shake before letting him go. "Glad to see that you're such an easy guy to get along with, Ed. See you later."
I turned and walked away, heading in the direction Jericho had headed in. I found her in the jewelry department, which mildly surprised me. She wasn't looking at rings though. She was looking at lockets. She hadn't yet found a replacement for the one that James had ruined more than three months ago.
"Hey," I said as I walked up to her. She turned to me and threw her arms around me.
"Thank you so much Duo!" she cried, her face buried into my shoulder. "You have no idea how much you just helped me!"
Slightly shocked at Jericho's sudden physical contact, I awkwardly returned the hug. "it was no problem. It was fun psyching that guy out," I said laughing. But it was more fun being able to put my arm around you and not have you shrug away, I thought. But even as I thought it, Hilde's face appeared in my mind, and my heart sank.
I let go of Jericho and pulled away from her. I walked over to the display case she had been standing at and looked down at all the lockets on display. "So, what were you looking at?" I asked her.
She pointed down at a group of lockets in the center of the case. They were larger than the rest of the lockets in the case, big enough to hold pictures of a reasonable size. I remembered the pictures from her old locket. She had told me they were of her biological parents.
"They're all so pretty!" she said, looking down at them. It was the first time I had ever seen Jericho really interested in jewelry.
"Maybe if you're good, Santa will get you one for Christmas," I said grinning at her.
She shook her head. "Nah. They're too expensive, even for Santa." She sighed and turned away from the case. "Besides, my last locket was the third locket Mom and Dad have gotten me. Every time they get me one, it gets ruined by James or lost within a year. They said they're not gonna get me another locket for a long time. And when they say something like that, they mean it."
I frowned and looked from Jericho to the display case and back to her. She looked so sad.
"Com'n Duo. I think I know what you can get Diana for Christmas."
.0.
The next day in school, my thoughts were still on Christmas presents. Jericho had helped me find a really nice chocolate-making kit for Diana, and a boxed set of old black-and-white movies for Jon. I got Trowa a denim jacket since Catherine had said his jacket was getting rather worn. With Jericho's help, I found Quatre a book of violin music, and a book about sword fighting for WuFei. I had been planning on just giving WuFei the stuffed animal, but Jericho had insisted that I needed to get him something else for him too.
I still hadn't found anything for Heero, but I figured that when I went to buy something for Jericho, I would find something for him.
Jericho was late for lunch that day. She had mentioned having a test in French class, and I figured she was just taking extra time on the test. I was so busy with my thoughts about what to get her and Heero that I didn't notice that someone had sat down at the table until they cleared their throat.
I looked up and rolled my eyes in exasperation. "What do you want James?" I asked, annoyed. He was the last person I wanted to see at the moment.
"Why didn't you and Jericho tell us the good news?" he asked, picking up a cookie from my tray and inspecting it.
"What good news?" I asked, eying him reproachfully. I wanted my cookie back.
"Oh, you know, the good news." He shrugged. "Well, I guess you guys just weren't sure how to tell people yet."
"Tell people what?"
"Oh, you know what I'm talking about." He looked up at me smugly, knowing full well that I had no clue. He grinned. "Com'n Duo, what's the deal? Kristen said she saw you and Jericho at the mall yesterday, and you were all over each other. She heard you talking about some sort of little getaway you guys are taking this weekend. And then she said you guys went off to the jewelry department to look at engagement rings."
A light went off in my head. James thought Jericho and I were a couple. "Hate to tell you this, James old buddy," I replied, making sure I sounded extra sarcastic on the 'buddy' part. "But Jericho and I are just friends. No engagement. No getaway. Just me and her, hangin' out and kickin' back like most friends do."
James frowned. "Are you saying Kristen's a liar?"
I shook my head. "Nah, she was telling the truth, but the thing is, we were just pretending. There was this guy that was making Jericho uncomfortable, and I figured I'd mess with him a little. You know, to make him leave her alone. Now, can I have my cookie back?"
James snorted and allowed the cookie fall from his hand. It fell to the ground and broke apart. "Whoops, my bad," he said, shaking his head. His eyes fell on something behind me for a moment, then they turned back to me. "So, there's nothing going on between you and Jericho? You're just friends?"
"Yeah," I replied, getting bored with the conversation.
"You mean, all that stuff you said to her at the mall and the little kisses and all that sweet boyfriend crap, that was all just an act to keep the guy away from her. There wasn't any underlying feelings with it?" he pressed.
Yeah, like I'd tell him that there are, I thought to myself as I said aloud, "Right. Nothing at all. We're just friends. Everything Kristen saw at the mall was an act. Just pretend."
James smirked at me, his eyes shifting once again to something behind me. "That's all I wanted to hear." He stood up and walked away, whistling as he made his way back across the cafeteria to his table.
I watched him go, my eyes narrowing. If still had had Deathscythe, I would have been tempted to cut class and go stomp on his house. The nerve of that guy, trying to pry into my life.
Jericho sat down at the table suddenly, like she had come out of nowhere. She had a funny look on her face like she was about to cry.
"Hey," I said, smiling. "What's wrong?"
She scowled and didn't answer. She pulled her French book out of her bag and slammed it down onto the table with a bang that made me jump. She flipped through the pages, slapped her notebook down on the table and started doing homework.
"How was the French test?" I asked.
"It was fine," she replied, her face growing calm again.
"Is something the matter?" I asked.
She looked up at me with a funny look on her face, almost as though she wasn't sure what she was feeling. She shook her head and when she looked back at me. "Nothing. I guess I'm just a little stressed about stuff at the moment. No big deal. When do you wanna come over and start assembling the model?" she asked me. "The science fair is in less than a month you know."
Sighing, I leaned back in my chair. "Yeah and Christmas is in five days. Since when did life become so complicated?"
She laughed. "Don't talk to me about complications." She pulled a flyer out of her notebook and handed it to me. "This thing, along with Christmas dinner at my house, and two art competitions, is making my winter vacation packed."
Central High School
NEW YEAR'S EVE MASQUERADE BALL
"Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow"
December 31, AC197 8:00pm - 12:30am
Tickets: 15 dollars/person, 25 dollars/couple
Costumes and Masks are required for admission
Ring in the New Year with a night of dancing, mystery, and romance
This year's masquerade harks back to the time of Shakespeare, and we will
be enjoying old-fashioned dances along with modern music.
There will be a contest for the best costumes, and we will have
a special judge present for the costume contest
"You have got to be kidding me," I said, staring at the paper. "A Masquerade ball?" I looked up at Jericho and I knew that there was no way I would be able to get out of going with her. "Where are we going to get the costumes?" I asked.
She grinned. "I'm gonna be making them."
"How am I supposed to know how to dance those old dances?" I wondered as I took a bite of my sandwich. "I don't even know how to dance modern dances."
Jericho smiled at me. "Same way I do. Smile, laugh, and act like it's the easiest thing in the world. Just pretend. You can pretend, right?"
I nodded. Yeah, I'm pretending that I just want you as a friend. How long can I lie to myself? I thought.
"Right," I said, looking up her. "Just pretend. No problem."
